Suono Di Violenza
by eggstraordinary
Summary: Following the death of Vongola Nono, Tsuna immediately left his home for Italy, learning more about himself on the way. AU.
1. Act 1

**Title: **Suono Di Violenza

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Amano-sensei owns Reborn!

**Summary: **Following the death of Vongola Nono, Tsuna immediately left his home for Italy, learning more about himself on the way. AU.

**Note: **Took place 4 years later, particularly on the 1 to 3 days after Vongola Nono's death. Tsuna had yet to control Hyper Dying Will Mode completely. There will be copious amount of Hibari later on. Written for the writing shuffle challenge, so this fic is loosely based on the song "This Is War" by 30 Seconds To Mars.

**Acknowledgement: **A sincere thank you to rachel-chanx3, who listened to my random ramblings, betad this chapter, and nudged me to write even though she was super busy with work.

* * *

><p><strong>Act 1.<strong>

**QQQ**

Tsuna could feel the impact of the Ninth's death before the news even reached his ears.

On the news, the remains of an airplane washed up on Osaka Bay. According to the police, it appeared to be privately owned, but its owner had yet to be found. It was said to be a bad omen, how close it was to Kansai International Airport. The news said that measures would be taken to tighten security.

Tsuna didn't thought much of it, but Reborn was unusually quiet when they watched the TV coverage of the aircraft's pieces being dragged on shore.

**QQQ**

Tsuna was sitting in class, listening to an analysis of fall as a symbol in poetry when he felt chilly shivers crawling up his spine to his fingers. He dropped his pencil, and it fell with an ominous _clack _on the floor, but luckily, Gokudera caught it with his foot before it rolled off to oblivion.

Gokudera handed the pencil back to Tsuna. "Are you alright, Tenth? You seem a little pale."

"I'm fine, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna whispered back, not wanting Gokudera to be worried. He turned back to the lesson, but he couldn't focus with the feeling of anxiety curling in his guts.

Outside, fall left a trail of crimson maple leaves in its path. The sky was cloudy, promising rain as the weather forecaster had said. A broken tree branch banged against the glass window, startling the Tsuna, but then a strong wind swept it away.

Tsuna felt restless. He wanted to walk out of class and do…something, even though the weather was bad. Gokudera must have sensed his unease because he asked Tsuna again, "Tenth, are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," Tsuna insisted, and the teacher shot Tsuna a glare. Tsuna slumped in his seat a little, feeling embarrassed.

However, Gokudera was Gokudera, and he felt no obligation to follow the classroom courtesy when Tsuna's well-being was at stake. "Tenth, you know you could ask anything from me."

"Yes, I know," Tsuna whispered hastily, shooting a nervous glance at the teacher. "Thank you, Gokudera-kun, but I'm fine, really."

Tsuna's hope of keeping this quiet was dashed when Yamamoto, who was within hearing distance, added, "If you're feeling unwell, you could ask to go to the nurse's office."

"Tenth said that he is fine!" Gokudera said irritably, simply for the sake of disagreeing with Yamamoto. Then, "Do you want to go to the nurse's office, Tenth?"

"It's alright; I don't need to," said Tsuna, now aware that the whole class had heard their conversation. His classmates were probably used to Tsuna's life interrupting their lessons, so Gokudera's outburst did not earn a single reaction, for which Tsuna was glad. "I'm fine, really." Gokudera looked like he wanted to protest, so Tsuna added for good measure, "Please let it go. For me?"

Gokudera said nothing after that, and Tsuna returned to what was left of the lesson. After class, Gokudera approached him again, checking to see if Tsuna was fine. Yamamoto asked after him too, but Tsuna reassured both of his friends that he was indeed healthy. Perhaps Tsuna was not the only one feeling restless because of the inactivity in their mafia double life for the past month.

"You look pale, Tsuna," Yamamoto pointed out.

"That's what I said!" Gokudera glared at Yamamoto, as if Yamamoto had stolen his words. "I'll take you to the nurse right away, Tenth!"

"It's okay, really!" Tsuna protested, but Gokudera took him by the arm and dragged him to the nurse's office, Yamamoto following, and, before Tsuna could stop him, Gokudera pushed the door open with a loud _bang_, demanding someone to take care of Tsuna. He ushered Tsuna to a bed and told the nurse that Tsuna needed to be checked right away.

Suddenly, the curtain separating them from another bed was yanked aside, revealing one very irritated Hibari.

"You interrupted my nap," said Hibari. "I'll bite you to death."

"Hiieeee!" Tsuna jumped, terrible memories from the last time he accidentally woke Hibari from his sleep came back. Today, like every other day, was not his lucky one. Unfortunately, being the Vongola heir did nothing to improve his luck.

However, before Hibari could give Tsuna a thorough beating with his tonfas, Gokudera stopped him. "Don't touch the Tenth!"

"Crowding?" Hibari said darkly, tightening his grip on his tonfas. "I'll bite you all to death."

Gokudera whipped out his dynamite. "I'll protect you, Tenth!"

_You're not helping the situation! _Tsuna wanted to slap his forehead in exasperation and maybe hide in a hole somewhere so that nothing worse could crawl its way into his life, but then Gokudera started lighting the fuze of all his dynamites.

"No!" Tsuna pushed himself to his feet, intending to stop the two from destroying the nurse's office, but that was when he felt it. His stomach lurched, and he felt a chill stinging the back of his eyes. As if the whole world was put on slow motion, Tsuna watched his feet hover over air, frozen in time. His heart began to race, and Tsuna wondered what was wrong with him because it seemed like his feet would never touch the ground.

Then a sharp clatter pierced through his eardrums, the vibration jolting through his body all the way to his toes. It shocked Tsuna back to regular time, and before he could steady himself, he fell face first on to the ground.

"Ouch!" Tsuna landed on his nose and chin, but luckily, no blood. His hands and elbows were scrapped when he tried to cushion his fall, but other than that, no major injuries.

Something wet on the ground touched his palm.

Water?

Tsuna's eyes trailed up to the shattered vase on the ground. It was on the bedside table only a moment before.

A strange calm settled over him.

_Move_, his mind commanded. _Now._

Suddenly, Tsuna felt his world lurch again as someone yanked him by the arm and tossed him aside, but he was ready this time. Tsuna swung his feet out and they skid across the floor, a hand on the ground planted him firmly in place.

His mind told him before his eyes did that Hibari was the one who did that. Before he could ask Hibari what was going on, Hibari answered for him. "You were in the way, herbivore."

Tsuna instinctively looked at the spot where he was a moment before. A bullet hole punctured the pale white ceramic tile.

A sniper, possibly two or more. He needed to eliminate them as fast as possible. Tsuna quickly checked to see if Gokudera and Yamamoto were fine and was glad to see that they were not hurt. It seemed that they had intuitively duck after they heard the first bullet shattering the vase.

The wind rushed in, and the curtain fluttered, blocking them from sight of the open window. Tsuna immediately took this opportunity to move himself from sniper's viewing range. He examined the position of his family members.

Hibari was crouching behind a cabinet. Gokudera and Yamamoto were on his left, already out of sight of the window. It was likely that the sniper never even saw them in the first place.

Tsuna's body was tense, ready for a fight. Beside him, Gokudera had his dynamite ready, and Yamamoto tightened his grip on his baseball bat.

_Eliminate_, his mind commanded. He needed to find that sniper and execute him immediately. It would be a difficult find but an easy kill—

Hibari gave him a look. Tsuna wasn't sure what it meant, but he instinctively turned to the window, waiting for another attack. However, as sudden as it had come, the unsettling feeling within his guts disappeared, and a calming peace washed over him. Tsuna felt that the danger had passed.

"They've retreated," Tsuna said, understanding that it was true because his instinct had told him so. "For now."

With the passing danger, fight slowly drained from Tsuna. It wasn't until he felt the familiar warmth of his Dying Will Flame receding away that he realized that he must have naturally drawn it out without knowing.

That was new.

Tsuna could still feel the bitter taste in his tongue as his mind echoed. _Eliminate. Eliminate. Eliminate._ He clutched his head and rubbed his temples roughly, trying to get the thought to go away because no, he didn't want to kill anyone. That wasn't his thought.

It wasn't.

"They're not going to get away with disrupting the peace of Namimori High School," Hibari said, rising to his feet, and Tsuna was surprised that Hibari trusted Tsuna's intuition even when Tsuna didn't trust himself. Hibari gave him another look, and if Tsuna wasn't too busy being wary of what Hibari was going to do next, he would think that it was a sign of grudging acknowledgement.

Hibari promptly walked out of the office, and Tsuna had no doubt that he was going to gather up the Discipline Committee to search for the snipers.

"Tenth!"

"Tsuna!"

"Are you alright?"

"I'm—I'm fine," said Tsuna, body trembling. Now that the danger had passed temporarily, his mind finally had the chance to embrace fear. It bloomed like spreading ice in his lungs, and Tsuna shivered.

"Tenth?" Tsuna felt a sharp sting on his middle finger that immediately spread and numbed his right hand.

"Oh no."

"What's going on?" Yamamoto asked, and Tsuna didn't know how to answer him because he didn't know either.

"I…I don't know what's going on," Tsuna admitted as he quickly pulled his ring off with shaky fingers, but then his hand slipped and he dropped the ring on the ground with a heavy _clank_. He picked up his ring, and even though it looked the same as usual, Tsuna sensed that something was wrong.

**QQQ**

Tsuna still didn't feel completely safe when he got home, in his room, within range of Reborn's reassuring presence. Gokudera and Yamamoto were with him; they had walked Tsuna home in case whoever attempted to kill him was planning an ambush.

Before Tsuna could have a chance to catch his breath and tell Reborn what had happened, Reborn leapt from where he was waiting on Tsuna's bed with crisp words, "We have to move right away."

"What?" Tsuna blinked. "Move?"

"I've just received news that the Ninth was assassinated," said Reborn, the fedora shadowed his eyes from Tsuna's sight. "The Varia is taking care of the situation as best as they could on short notice." Tsuna took this to mean that the assassination team was already on the move to find and eliminate the culprits. "We have to get you to Italy immediately."

Gokudera and Yamamoto looked at each other. Gokudera was the first to speak, "Someone sent snipers after the Tenth this morning at school."

"Wait," Tsuna said, everything happening too fast for him to take it all in. "What about—I can't—"

"Then we have to get you out of Namimori as quickly as possible," said Reborn. "There's a good chance that whoever assassinated the Ninth is coming after you. They'll come back. Staying here is not safe because they probably know you live here."

"I—I," Tsuna clenched his fists. "What about my mom? What about everybody else?"

_What about my family?_

_Gokudera-kun. Yamamoto. Onii-chan….Lambo….I-pin._

_Kyoko-chan._

"The longer you stay here, the more danger they will be in," Reborn said. "Pack your essentials. We're going to move before they attack."

"It'll be alright, Tenth! You'll be safe; I'll make sure of it!" Gokudera tried to comfort him, but his comfort wasn't the first thing on his mind right now.

"I'm not going to leave my mother here!" Tsuna declared. "I'm not going to run and leave Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto-kun and everyone else here."

"Your guardians will be leaving with you, but everyone else has to stay here. You can't risk their lives," said Reborn. "The CEDEF will be making a pit stop here before they head to Italy as well."

CEDEF. That meant that Iemitsu was coming.

Tsuna glanced up at Gokudera and Yamamoto. "I don't want to put you guys in danger." _I don't want anyone in danger for my sake._

"We'll get through this," said Yamamoto with a big grin. "We've been through rough patches before."

Tsuna turned to Gokudera.

"I'll always be by your side, Tenth," Gokudera said. "Whatever decision you make—I trust you."

Tsuna felt a little reassured with his friends' confidence. They trusted him with their lives, and there was no question that Tsuna returned the sentiment. Reborn was right: he couldn't possibly stay in Namimori.

"How soon can CEDEF get here?" Tsuna asked Reborn.

"There's a good chance that they'll be here by tomorrow morning."

"I will be leaving for Italy with my guardians," said Tsuna. "But only after I talk with the CEDEF."

"But Tenth," Gokudera protested. "Waiting until tomorrow—I'm afraid that's too risky."

"I have something I want to say to them," Tsuna said. He wasn't going to back down from this, not in times like these. It was essential that he met up with the CEDEF. "And I will not leave until I say it."

"You could leave a message with someone else here," said Yamamoto. "Or you could contact them by phone?"

"We have to minimize contact by communication devices," Reborn said, jumping on Tsuna's desk to peek through a gap between the window curtains. "I suspect that there is a leak in our network."

"A mole?" Gokudera sounded angry.

"No," Reborn leapt from Tsuna's desk. "Possibly. Contact to Italy had been blocked for the past few days before and after the Ninth's assassination. That's why we received the news late. However, our enemy might also have been receiving faulty information. You all heard the news of that washed up aircraft, correct?"

"Was it one of ours?" Gokudera asked.

"Ours?" Tsuna and Yamamoto said at the same time. No one ever said anything about them owning an airplane.

"Yes," said Reborn. "The plane that was shot down was one of the Vongola's privately owned aircrafts." Then, to Tsuna and Yamamoto. "The Vongola monopolized a part of Japan's air transportation."

Tsuna did know that the Vongola was powerful, but it had not occurred to him to see them—to see himself—as real mafia, one that could take in the concept of monopoly easily as breathing.

"Why did they shot it down?" Yamamoto asked.

"My guess is that they were aiming for Tsuna," Reborn said. "They might have thought that we would send Tsuna to Italy as soon as we received the news about the Ninth, but our faulty communication network saved us."

A heavy silence fell between them.

"I'll wait until the CEDEF gets here," Tsuna was the first to break it. "I know that I'm being risky, but there is something I have to do."

Reborn gave him a contemplative look. "Do you want to speak to your father, Tsuna?"

Tsuna thought about this for a moment before replying. "No, I want to speak to Sawada Iemitsu."

"I see," Reborn said, and even though most of his face was shadowed by his fedora, Tsuna could see the hint of a smile.

**QQQ**

It started raining in the evening, pounding heavily on the rooftop. Gokudera and Yamamoto went home to pack, and Tsuna wished that they had accepted his mother's invitation for dinner because the anxiety in the kitchen was choking everyone into silence. Lambo actually behaved, and in turn, I-pin was quiet. Bianchi said nothing. Even Reborn appeared more high-strung than usual.

Tsuna wanted the rain to stop already. He didn't have the best survival instinct, and the heavy rain was making it difficult to keep an ear for any slight disturbance that would signal incoming danger.

A sharp pain exploded on his forehead, enough to leave his ears ringing, and Tsuna realized that Reborn, the jerk, had just kicked him. "Wha-what was that for?" Tsuna rubbed his forehead mournfully. He hadn't done anything yet.

"Stop moping and eat up, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn crossed his arms. "You need all the strength you can get."

"You could have told me without the kicking," Tsuna said. "I would have listened!"

"You can't teach an old dog new trick without drawing blood, as the old saying goes," said Reborn.

"That's not how the saying goes at all!" Tsuna raised his voice, and he wasn't old, nor was he a dog. "You made that up. You just wanted to hit me for fun, didn't you?"

"Shut up and eat, Dame-Tsuna."

"I'm not a dog," Tsuna mumbled, feeling strangely liberated despite the sudden violence. He picked up his chopsticks and resumed his meal, but when he placed a piece of sausage in his bowl, Reborn snatched it from him.

"Hey!" Tsuna protested. Reborn chewed slowly, and, after he swallowed, said, "The early bird catches the worm."

"I got to the sausage first!" Tsuna said. "Hey!" He cried out when he tried to reach for another sausage, but Lambo snatched it before he could.

"Neh neh, Tsuna is too slow," Lambo taunted, and of course with Lambo up and about, I-pin was too.

Tsuna watched in relief as the tension in the room bled away with the return of normalcy. He never thought that he would miss Lambo stealing his food or the children running about making too much noise, but he did. Even Bianchi had a hint of a smile on her lips.

"The mentality of the Boss is the mentality of his Family," said Reborn, who was also watching the kids chasing each other. "When you're afraid and worried, so will your Family. Don't forget that."

"Ah, I understand. I guess," said Tsuna. "Thank you, Reborn."

Having Reborn as a mentor was painful but reassuring; at the same time, however, Tsuna wondered if he was ready to become the Vongola boss if he still had much to learn. He still…He didn't want to be a part of the mafia, even though he had gotten this far. No matter what Dino said about growing into it, Tsuna still couldn't get his mindset into being in the mafia. Dino said that they were similar, and Tsuna had thought so too. They both were no-good fighters who didn't want anything to do with the mafia until Reborn trained them, but Tsuna wasn't Dino; Tsuna still didn't want to be in the mafia, no matter how much training Reborn put him through. But….

Tsuna watched as I-pin tackled Lambo to the ground. For now, Tsuna would do what he could to protect his Family, even if it meant walking down a path that he didn't choose for himself.

He didn't miss the Reborn's contemplative stare, but he didn't point it out either.

"Don't over think things," Reborn said. "You can't afford to be distracted with stray thoughts."

"Right," said Tsuna.

"Also, you need to tell me the details of what happened at school," Reborn pointed out.

"I will," Tsuna said, shooting a nervous glance at his mother, but she showed no signs that she was aware of the current situation. Tsuna wished he could tell her, but he probably shouldn't.

When they were done with dinner, Tsuna helped his mom clean up even though he had never offered to do that before. It was strange when he thought about the fact that for all seventeen years of his life, his mother never told him to do any chores other than the simple ones to take care of himself, like cleaning his room. She didn't seem surprised when he offered; she just smiled and said, "Thank you, Tsu-chan."

Tsuna ended up drying the dishes as his mom washed them, since he didn't know how to wash dishes and would rather not break any rain had trickled down to a stop by now, so his mom had opened the window to let the night air in. They worked in a comfortable silence. The only sounds were the running water, the dishes and bowls clanking against each other, and the soft _drip drip_ of the rain's aftermath outside.

It was a shock when his mom finally broke the silence. "Tsu-chan…is going far away, right?"

Tsuna stopped in his track, holding the wet bowl uncertainly in his hand. He glanced at his mom, who still had her usual easy-going smile on her face. After a moment— "Yes," he finally said, before resuming drying the bowl. "I'm sorry."

"You know," his mom said softly, and Tsuna had never, in his seventeen years, heard how vulnerable his mother's voice could be. She had always sounded happy, hopeful, and optimistic, no matter how often his father had walked out of their lives. "Your father offered to do the dishes too, the night before the first time he left. Even though he insisted, I ask him to dry the dishes while I wash instead."

Tsuna blinked. He didn't know that. There were very little that he knew of his father, and even less of this man's relationship with his mother.

"I know that he was going to leave before he told me," she continued, her voice sad with nostalgia. "And I wanted to treasure as much time as I could by his side."

"Mom—" Tsuna began, but was at a loss of what to say.

"I wanted to tell him to stay," his mom had paused in her work, placing down the plate she was washing back in the sink. "But I knew it wasn't going to make a difference. And now Tsu-chan is leaving too."

"That's not true."

His mother looked at Tsuna in surprise, and Tsuna himself was shock at his own words because deep inside, he knew that she couldn't stop him, just like she couldn't stop his father. This was a force beyond her control.

Tsuna placed the bowl and the rag on the counter. He reached for his mom's hand and squeezed it tightly. _When had his mother's hand become so fragile?_

"You could ask me to stay, mom," said Tsuna. "I'll listen."

"But you won't stay," she said, and Tsuna was surprised at the confidence in her tone.

"No," he admitted because he knew that it was true. "But-but your words would make a difference because…because…I'll learn how to wash the dishes, and one day I'll actually do it for you!" Up close, Tsuna could see the age lines on his mother's face, ones that he had never noticed before because her smile was always so bright.

"I'll keep you to your promise then," she smiled, but Tsuna saw that this was a different smile. He could see the hope and the optimism, things that the younger Tsuna had no problem finding, but the Tsuna now had grown to see other things as well. Melancholy. Doubt. Fear.

"Believe in me, mom," said Tsuna. "You've been strong for me. I will be strong for you too."

Nana let the sponge fell back into the sink and wrapped her arms around Tsuna's shoulders. She had known before, but it was only now that she saw how tall Tsuna had grown and how wide his shoulders had became. She buried her face in his hair, hoping that she could hold back her tears.

Tsuna returned the embrace. The soapy water was soaking into his shirt, but he didn't care. Mom smelled the same like always, like warmth and home and the last seventeen years of love.

"When have you grown so much?" Nana's voice cracked. "I've always thought that I would at least have a few years left with you."

Tsuna rubbed comforting circles on his mother's back. "It's alright. I'll come back."

"Did you know that I was always afraid of asking you how your day went?" she whispered. "Because I was scared that if you told me, I would be forced to realize how far you had grown away from me."

"I know," Tsuna said, and perhaps that was one of the reasons why he tried to keep the mafia business from her. He would keep doing it if he could, continuing to pretend that he was still a little boy that she could take care of, but the times were different now. "And I know that you've known about…things without me telling you."

"Like father, like son," she said sadly.

"I'll come back," Tsuna promised because he didn't want to be his father. "I'll do it with my Dying Will."

"I'd rather that you return without having to resort to that," Nana tightened her grip around Tsuna. "I'll wait for you, no matter how long it would take."

Tsuna clutched his mother tightly and let his hair soak the tears of his mother's sadness.

Outside, it started raining again.

**QQQ**

Tsuna knew what he had said, but to actually do it was another matter altogether. Iemitsu and Basil arrived earlier than expected. Tsuna thought that he had to wait until morning, but they arrived at 10 PM, on the dot. His mother was ecstatic, although her smile didn't seem as bright as usual even with the family completed at last.

Tsuna greeted his father and Basil, what he wanted to say to his father clumped in his throat. "Ah, you've grown taller since I last seen you, Tsuna," his father laughed, although Tsuna didn't see any humor in the fact that he had not seen Iemitsu once in the last two years.

"I am turning eighteen soon," Tsuna said.

It was October. His birthday was in a few days.

"Ah!" His mother gasped, and Tsuna could see the realization on her face. It had not occurred to Tsuna before, why his mother had always recall Reborn's birthday but rarely his, but now, he wondered if she did remember, but couldn't bear to see him grow older. It was strange how he could see things that he had not noticed before.

"Almost an adult," Iemitsu said.

"It would be a while until I turn twenty," Tsuna pointed out.

"No, but you will be an adult in Italy," Iemitsu said.

"I'm not Italian," Tsuna said, and perhaps he was angry. Being Japanese had never been his first priority, but he felt like he was being robbed of so many things in so little time that he was willing to cling on to what he could still call his. But perhaps his anger was simpler than that. Perhaps he was just angry with his father.

Besides, just because he was to be Vongola Decimo didn't mean that he was going to move to Italy anytime soon.

"You're going to be," said Iemitsu. "Why are you still here? It's dangerous."

That wasn't Tsuna's father talking. That was the CEDEF leader talking. Even though Tsuna knew that his father had to do his job, it still irritated him. "I wanted to talk to you first," Tsuna replied.

"Why don't we all sit down in the kitchen," Nana suggested. "I'll make tea."

"I'll help you," Tsuna said before Iemitsu could refuse her offer. The last thing Tsuna wanted to do was to deny his mother anything now.

They all filed in to the kitchen. Tsuna didn't know to prepare the tea, but luckily, his mom just asked him to take out the mochi she bought this morning and put them on a plate, which was an easy enough job.

"Where is Reborn?" Iemitsu asked.

"He's upstairs," Tsuna replied, placing the plate of mochi on the kitchen table and taking the seat across from his father. Strange, Reborn must have sensed that Iemitsu was here, yet he did not come downstairs.

"And your guardians?" "I've informed them of the situation this afternoon," said Tsuna. "They'll be here early tomorrow morning." Chrome had nodded in acceptance, taking things in strides without a protest, while Onii-chan ignored the intricate details (as usual) and focused more on the possibility of a fight. Hibari-san didn't say anything when Tsuna told him, but Tsuna suspected that was because Hibari-san didn't want to waste the effort to talk to someone he deemed weak. At least, Hibari-san didn't straight up refuse.

"I see," Iemitsu took the cup of tea gratefully when Nana handed it to him. "Your tea is always delicious."

His mother smiled, but the worried look did not leave her face.

"Thank you," Tsuna said when she placed a cup in front of him.

"I apologize for imposing," Basil was calm, but Tsuna could sense that he wanted to leave the room. "But may I use thine bath?"

"Of course," said his mother. "Let me show you the bathroom. I'll grab you a spare towel as well. Do you need clean clothes?"

"I've packed some, thank thee for thine kindness." And with that, Basil and his mother left the kitchen, leaving Tsuna alone with his father. Not that he didn't appreciate their blatant attempt to excuse themselves, it was not necessary.

"Have you packed your things?" Iemitsu asked after taking a sip of tea.

"Yes," Tsuna said. He'd packed the important stuff—his mittens, the Dying Will pills, clothes, and toiletry. There wasn't much that he was going to take with him.

"Good." Iemitsu took another sip of tea.

Tsuna didn't touch his. He watched the ghostly steam rose from the cup, and considered what he wanted to say. "You're heading to Italy too?"

"Of course," Iemitsu replied. "But I won't be going with you. I have business to take care of in Japan first."

"What do you have to take care of?" Tsuna immediately thought of his mother.

"I have to make sure the airplane incident is closed as quietly as possible," Iemitsu said.

"Oh." Tsuna had known. He had hoped, but deep down, he had understood that his father wouldn't have come without a work-related purpose, not for him or his mother. He wondered if Iemitsu was talking to him now as a son or as the Vongola boss. However, what Tsuna wanted to ask of Iemitsu was not from Vongola Decimo, and Tsuna tried to convince himself that it mattered very little for a long time now, what his father thought of him. However, what he wanted from Iemitsu could only be delivered from his father.

This was not a request from Vongola Decimo. This was Tsunayoshi Sawada. "I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it?"

"Please take care of mom."

It was all he wanted from his father. Tsuna didn't need protection, not from his father because he had never received it and never needed it. What little he gained from Iemitsu was for Vongola Decimo, and he understood that.

Iemitsu placed his cup of tea back on the saucer.

Tsuna watched him nervously. "I know you have a lot on your hands right now," said Tsuna. "But I want to ask you to stay here in Japan and watch over her. You don't need to go to Italy."

"You have confidence that you can take care of the situation by yourself?" Iemitsu asked skeptically.

"I won't be alone. I have my guardians with me, and the Varia is also there."

"The Varia does not answer to you."

"Neither do you," Tsuna shot back. Iemitsu said nothing at that. It was true.

"What makes you think I will answer to your request now?" Iemitsu sounded curious.

Tsuna remembered telling Reborn that he wanted to talk to Iemitsu Sawada, not his father. But he didn't want to do that. He wouldn't.

"I'm asking as your son," Tsuna said.

There was a strange silence at first, and then, as if Tsuna had said the magic word, Iemitsu's attitude changed immediately as he bore a giant grin on his face, the same one that he wore when he gave Lambo a bit of sake to ease Lambo's pain. (It was Iemitsu's fault in the first place for not being careful when playing with a child.)

Tsuna wondered about the sanity of the people in his life. Himself included.

"What a fine young man you have become!" His father declared. Tsuna didn't expect that he would be able to activate his father's no-good mode that easily. He hoped that Iemitsu wasn't going to say or do anything embarrassing like—

"Man, I still remember like it was yesterday how you used to wet your bed up until fifth grade!"

—that. Embarassing things like that. Things that made Tsuna felt so small. And of course, because Iemitsu didn't earn his name as No-Good Father for nothing, he began picking his nose and wiping his hand shamelessly on his nice suit pants. Tsuna comforted himself with the fact that nose picking wasn't the most embarrassing thing that his father would have done.

It annoyed Tsuna because Iemitsu always did this as if he was trying to avoid the topic at hand, and it was even worse when Tsuna realized that he used to do the same, pretending that he was no-good and not putting in effort so that it wouldn't hurt as much when he failed. Tsuna had done this so often that eventually, he had managed to convince himself that he was no-good. However, Tsuna wasn't going to let himself or his father get away this time."I just want mom to be safe."

Ietmitsu sobered slightly, and Tsuna considered this a victory. "So you want my first priority to be taking care of Nana."

"Yes," Tsuna said hesitantly, now worried that his mother might be in more trouble with his no-good father than without. "She'll be here alone, and there's no telling what the enemy might do to her because of her association with me. She and…a few others." _Kyoko-chan. Haru. I-pin. _However, unlike his mother, they were not directly related to him, so it was unlikely that they would be targeted. He would have to ask Reborn about this. But his father understood, and his father was strong. Even if he had never protected Tsuna before when it mattered, he could at least protect what they both called home.

"Would you do this for me?" Tsuna whispered, wanting to look away from his father's gaze but didn't dare to.

"I will do what I can," Iemitsu replied, expression unreadable, and Tsuna found himself thanking his father even though it didn't feel like something that he had to ask for in the first place.

It was funny because Tsuna didn't remember the last time he had ask his father for anything, not even for a toy when he was younger because even the five year-old Tsuna quickly learned that nothing ever came out of it, not when he was still weak. Even then he had known that he would not be acknowledged, not even by Father, if who he was wasn't enough.

Tsuna rubbed his right wrist unconsciously, recalling a memory of when he was eight and did something stupid that resulted in a broken wrist. He didn't remember what he did and he didn't remember why, but he did remember a fleeting foolish hope that his father would come home if he heard the news that Tsuna was hurt.

"Hey dad."

"What is it?"

"Do you remember how I broke my wrist when I was eight?"

Iemitsu raised an eyebrow. "No. Did you really? I didn't think you would do anything strenuous to break a bone."

"Never mind," Tsuna shook his head, heart sinking for reasons that he didn't understand.

"I don't remember much about it either."

* * *

><p>~To be continued.<p> 


	2. Act 2

**ACT II**

* * *

><p>When Tsuna returned to his room, Reborn didn't ask him about the conversation with Iemitsu. What Reborn did ask, however, was what happened at school this morning. Tsuna told him about the attempted assassination, but most of all, he told Reborn how he drew out the Hyper Dying Will Mode without any pills.<p>

"Did you use any Dying Will pills before that attack?" Reborn asked, perching on the edge of Tsuna's bed. He didn't look at Tsuna, which was strange because Reborn always initiated eye contact, and Tsuna the one who averted it. Something was bothering Reborn, and this made Tsuna felt unsettled.

"I didn't," Tsuna replied. "I haven't used any since the skirmish two months ago." Things had been relatively peaceful, saved for the expected loudness that came with having mafia-in-training as friends.

"So you drew out the Hyper Dying Will Mode unconsciously?" Something changed in Reborn's tone. Tsuna wasn't sure what it was, but he felt a strange relief washed over him. Whatever bothered Reborn before, well, he wasn't thinking about it anymore, not when Tsuna's well-being was at stake.

But then again, Tsuna didn't want anyone to worry about him, even though a selfish part of him was glad that someone did.

Tsuna suddenly wanted to meet Reborn's eyes.

"I think so." Tsuna could still feel the power of his flame now, lingering in goose bumps on his skin whenever he thought about this morning. It was unlike any other times that he had used his flame, even the times when he was at the brink of death and his desire to protect his family was so overwhelming that it manifested itself in Hyper Dying Will Mode. This morning was different, but Tsuna wasn't sure if it was a good kind of difference. The flame came as easily to him as breathing, and the thought of hunting down the snipers even more so. Usually, he had a good control of his consciousness in Hyper Dying Will Mode, but this morning, a thirst for a fight stirred violently within him, and that was even more frightening than the enemies themselves.

Reborn looked thoughtful at that. "You've become stronger." He tapped his finger against the edge of the bed, and Tsuna watched the steady rhythm of his wrist, feeling uneasy with the compliment.

"What do you mean?" Tsuna asked with trepidation.

"Your resolve had grown," Reborn explained. His face was half-hidden in the shadow of his fedora, but Tsuna could see the hint of a smile. Tsuna remembered seeing the same smile whenever he did something that made Reborn proud of him, but this was odd considering Tsuna hadn't done anything to earn Reborn's pride. It definitely wasn't because Tsuna's flame or the fact that Tsuna's resolve had grown. It was something else, but Tsuna didn't know what he did.

Before Reborn said anything, Tsuna felt that he needed to be cautious of Reborn's words, but was this what Reborn wanted to see from him?

Reborn wanted Tsuna to doubt him. Impossible. Doubt wasn't something that he was supposed to show to his family. There was no reason for Reborn to want Tsuna to feel doubt.

Reborn's expression showed nothing. Tsuna couldn't read him.

"Because of your growing will power, you were able to draw out the Dying Will Flame unconsciously without the pills. However, you're not yet strong enough to do it consciously," Reborn continued, seemingly oblivious to Tsuna's internal conflict, but Tsuna had a feeling that obliviousness was a pretense.

That was fine. He had something more worrying to take care of, mainly his uncontrollable Dying Will flame.

Tsuna remembered that his father was able to go into Hyper Dying Will Mode without pills or bullets, but he recalled the thirst for battle this morning, and he wasn't sure if this was the kind of strength that he would like to gain.

"What is it?" Reborn asked, sensing the hesitance in Tsuna.

"I…when I drew the flame out this morning, I had wanted to fight. To kill." That wasn't right. Tsuna had never willingly wanted to take someone's life before, but in that moment when his body felt like it was being turned inside out, he had wanted to hunt down those snipers and—and—

He didn't want to think about it.

"That's normal," said Reborn. "You've been showing signs that you could control your flame when necessary."

Reborn didn't understand.

Tsuna clenched his fists, feeling irritated for reasons that he couldn't quite grasp. He felt like he was in front of his father again, in front of Iemitsu and his suffocating hope and expectation that Tsuna was to be the Vongola Decimo, and—

"But I didn't want to!" Tsuna protested. He didn't know why he was so upset that he was growing stronger, but there was something about maturing into a mafia boss that scared him. "I—it was like my own thoughts were not mine anymore."

"That's not good," said Reborn, and Tsuna snapped his head up to meet Reborn's gaze. Tsuna didn't notice that he was looking at the floor until he glanced up. "When you go into Hyper Dying Will Mode, you should always retain your consciousness." Reborn peered at Tsuna with a tilt of his fedora, so that Tsuna could only see his left eye from underneath the shadow.

"What you did was an incomplete Hyper Dying Will Mode, where your Hyper Intuition went out of control."

"Incomplete?"

"Yes." Reborn crossed his arms. "In drawing out your flame without the pills or the bullet, you need more training and a stronger resolve to maintain your consciousness. If not, pure survival instinct takes over, and that could quickly get out of control."

"Out-out of control?" Tsuna recalled the wild storm sweeping all rational thoughts from his mind, and knew that what Reborn said was true.

"On the road to Italy, if you're being attacked, try to maintain calmness in your mind as best you can," said Reborn. "Use the pills I gave you, and don't, under any circumstances, draw out your Dying Will Flame without them."

"Oh." He could do that. "Will I be able to learn how to control Hyper Dying Will Mode by myself?"

"Yes," said Reborn. "But not now. You might not be able to for a while, no matter how much training I put you through."

"What do you mean?" Tsuna was surprised. He had thought that Reborn would train him to death until he reached that stage; for Reborn to admit that his training would not be enough was…unusual.

"Until you learn to accept yourself" was Reborn's reply. "And that's something I can't help you with."

"What does that mean?" Tsuna asked, but instead of answering, Reborn jumped on Tsuna's desk, peeking through a gap between the close curtains. There were other things that Tsuna wanted to ask, things like 'why are you acting stranger than usual?'

But most of all, he wanted to know if Reborn was upset. There was something unusual about Reborn's manner, and Tsuna wanted to ask, but he didn't dare to because he didn't know what he would do if he found out that Reborn was upset, that Reborn was not okay with everything that had happened thus far.

Tsuna knew that he couldn't be a coward. It was a routine that both of them were familiar with: Reborn feeling bothered, Tsuna pretending that Reborn wasn't, and Reborn let Tsuna indulged in denial.

"Reborn—" Tsuna began, but couldn't finish.

Tsuna could see the slight turn of Reborn's head, an indication that he'd heard Tsuna and perhaps was waiting for what Tsuna was going to say. However, Tsuna's word hung in the heavy air between them, untouched.

"Are you o—" Tsuna didn't have the chance to finish before Reborn cut him off.

"Your guardians are here early," said Reborn." Something is wrong."

If Tsuna didn't know any better, he would say that Reborn was trying to avoid his question.

**QQQ**

When Tsuna and Reborn walked downstairs, everyone was standing in the hallway, and Gokudera reported right away. "Everyone's here. Hibari is outside."

"Are you guys alright?" Tsuna asked, taking in the disheveled state of his friends, while Reborn asked, "What happened?"

Tsuna would rather know if his friends were okay first, but he kept a hold on himself. Gokudera had a small gash on his left shoulder, and Yamamoto had a shallow cut along his jaw. Luckily, Ryohei and Chrome seemed unhurt, but Chrome hovered by the doorway, keeping a good distance from everyone else.

Gokudera answered Tsuna first. "No one's hurt. Someone ambushed baseball idiot and me, but we took care of them. I've gathered everyone because I wasn't sure if they were going to attack the other guardians, and I thought—"

"We should leave before they attack again," Tsuna finished Gokudera's train of thoughts. It had only been a few hours and everyone was already in danger.

"Yeah," Gokudera said. "I'm sorry."

"Oh no, it's not your fault, Gokudera-kun, you don't have to apologize," Tsuna said, keeping his eyes on his shoes because it suddenly became difficult to look at anyone in the eye.

"Tsuna." Reborn's voice was sharp, and Tsuna remembered '_The mentality of the Boss is the mentality of his Family.'_ He couldn't afford to be in self-doubt because he could throw everyone else into confusion. His family had been strong for him. He had to be strong for them to.

"Do you have everything you need with you?" Tsuna kept what he hoped was a reassuring smile on his face.

"Yes, Tenth!" Gokudera said, suddenly motivated by Tsuna's mask of confidence.

"Everything ready." Yamamoto gave Tsuna a thumb's up. Of course, because it was Yamamoto, Tsuna felt like Yamamoto was cheering him up rather than the other way around.

"To the extreme!" Onii-san seemed as cheerful as usual.

Tsuna turned to Chrome, who looked like she wanted to blend into the walls. "Chrome?"

"I—I don't have anything to take with me," said Chrome.

"You could borrow some of my clothes," his mother's reassuring voice drifted from the doorway. Tsuna gave her a grateful look.

"I don't want to impose—"

"It's alright," his mother said. "You could give them back when you return. When all of you come back."

"We will come back." Tsuna knew that it was a large promise, but he had to keep it not only for his mother's sake but for all of his guardians as well.

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep." Tsuna was shocked to hear that from Iemitsu, whose no-good father attitude was suddenly replaced by a cold, professional demeanor. He watched his mother's retreating back, and abruptly felt a burst of anger.

"Sometimes, it's good to try and bite more than you can chew," Reborn's calm voice cut in Tsuna could find a way to retaliate. He shot Ietmitsu a sharp look, and Tsuna was surprised at the sudden hostility.

"Reborn," said Tsuna, feeling surprised with Reborn's words. Reborn wasn't one to get into Tsuna's fight for him.

Iemitsu and Reborn stared at each other, neither saying anything nor breaking away their gaze. It felt like a contest, and that made Tsuna nervous because they couldn't afford to have another internal conflict now, not when Tsuna needed everyone's cooperation.

Luckily, Iemitsu was the first to look away.

"You've raised my son well," Iemitsu said, although Tsuna sensed another hidden meaning behind his words. He wasn't praising Reborn, but Tsuna didn't know what he was trying to do either.

"Only as splendid as you did with Basil" was Reborn's reply; a gibe that even Yamamoto knew wasn't a joke.

Noticing that Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Ryohei looked uncomfortable with the exchange, Tsuna decided to cut the not-argument between Iemitsu and Reborn. "Let's head to the kitchen and talk about how we're going to leave for Italy."

**QQQ**

"No" was Tsuna's answer. "Absolutely not."

The plan was simple. They were going to make a false leak in their communication network. Then, the group would be split into three fractions—first would be Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Chrome, second would be Hibari and Tsuna, and the last would be Reborn, Ryohei, and Lambo. They would leave Japan in that order, and each group would take a different route.

Naturally, the enemy would attack Gokudera's group first. Where the right hand man was, the boss was.

"I don't want to risk Gokudera's group like that," Tsuna said. "We're stronger when we're fighting as one."

"Traveling in a large group is more risky," said Reborn. "If the enemy decides to kill us all at once, they can."

"We don't know what the enemy is capable of," Tsuna pointed out. "We could be killed just as easily if we split apart."

There was no way that he was going to permit using Gokudera's group as bait.

"But we do have an idea," said Reborn. "If the enemy managed to assassinate the Ninth within the presence of all his guardians and the security force, then they will have no problem killing you with all your guardians. We need a tactic beside our physical strength. "

Tsuna knew that, yet— "I can't leave my friends to face danger without me. Besides, Hibari-san wouldn't have agreed to it." He was sure that Hibari wouldn't want to be tied down with Tsuna.

Gokudera was silent, and Tsuna wished that he would speak up. Usually, Gokudera would protest that there was no need to leave Tsuna in the hands of Hibari, of all people, but now, Gokudera said nothing.

"I've spoken with Hibari," Reborn said. "He agreed."

"But-but—" Tsuna spluttered.

"Tenth, have faith in me," said Gokudera. "It's my duty as your right hand man."

"You're my friend first before you're my right hand man," Tsuna said. He couldn't believe that after all these years, Gokudera couldn't understand that. "I can't use a friend like that." He caught Iemitsu's disapproving look, but he didn't care. He wasn't going to utilize friends like they were tools.

"Tsuna," a gentle hand at his shoulder startled him, and Tsuna turned to face Yamamoto's carefree smile. "We want to do this for you because you're our friend. We can't let a friend be killed without protecting him."

"Yamamoto."

"They aim to kill you, Tsuna," and here, Yamamoto tightened his grip on Tsuna's shoulder. "We'll fight with everything we have to keep you safe because we know you would do the same for us."

"Believe in us, Sawada!" Ryohei pumped his fists in the air. "We'll protect you to the extreme!"

"I…." Tsuna didn't know what to say. There was something pricking at the back of his eyes, so he looked away and blinked a few times.

"Tsuna," Reborn said, and Tsuna met Reborn's gaze even though he didn't want Reborn to see his eyes becoming wet. "Trust your family."

Tsuna blinked a few more times to get his eyes dry. He looked at Gokudera's determination, Yamamoto's confidence, and Ryohei's enthusiasm. He then turned to Reborn, who had nothing but patience, as if he had faith in what Tsuna would decide.

"Let's go with the plan," Tsuna said at last, and felt a tension bleeding from the room. The sudden lightness shocked Tsuna, and he didn't quite understand it until Reborn pointed out. "Your decisiveness kept your family confident."

"Oh." Tsuna then remembered that he had to keep a strong mentality for his family's sake. He was coming to understand Reborn's lesson.

It was a frightening power, this leadership. Just one sentence and he had control of everyone's motivation. He almost wanted to wrap it up and return it to wherever it was from.

"I will make sure the base is safe when my group arrives first, Tenth," said Gokudera.

"Thank you, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna didn't have anything else to say now, not when his friends were so determined to risk their lives to protect his. "Thank you, Yamamoto-kun, Onii-chan."

They talked about the technical details of the plan—the transportation, the routes to the base, the time, how weapons would be transported. Gokudera already took care of the plane tickets since they couldn't use their private planes. Tsuna didn't want to be a danger to a flight filled with innocent passengers, but Reborn pointed out that the enemy would be reluctant to catch the attention of national and international security ever since the other plane incident. Each group was going to Italy through different route—Tsuna's, in particular, involved getting off a plane in Southern Italy and then driving up to base. A fake driver's license was ready for Hibari.

"Hibari knows how to drive," Reborn said before Tsuna could protest.

Chrome joined the conversation when most of the plan was already thought-out. She didn't say anything when she came in either, just walked to the back wall and watched everyone talked things out. Tsuna thought about asking what she thought about their plan, but whenever he caught her gaze, she looked away.

Tsuna approached her afterwards.

"What do you think of the plan?"

Chrome seemed startled that Tsuna had asked. She folded her hands together, keeping her eyes on the floor instead of meeting Tsuna's gaze.

"I think it's very good."

"Chrome-san, I'm sorry that we plan everything without asking if you're okay with it first." It was short-sighted of him to exclude her. Now that Tsuna thought about it, throughout many of their battles, Chrome rarely voiced her opinions or her worries. She had always kept to herself, and Tsuna had been too focused with the whirlwind of everything else to see that she was often left behind.

No one in the family should be left behind.

"It's fine," Chrome played with the hem of her skirt. "It didn't matter because I wouldn't have much to say anyway."

"I don't think that's true."

"Eh?" Chrome let go of her skirt, glancing up at Tsuna in surprise.

"I think Chrome-san has a lot to say," Tsuna smiled. "One day, I'd like to hear it."

Chrome fell silent at that, and Tsuna knew that she would speak to him when she was ready.

"Thank you, Sawada-san," Chrome said softly, finally meeting Tsuna's eyes. "One day," she promised.

"I'll wait." In these times of trials, they needed to be more united than ever, and Tsuna didn't want anyone to feel rejected.

**QQQ**

Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Chrome left around 1 AM, when the rain had stopped completely, but the streets were still wet, and a strong mist lingered in the air. It was not the best weather for traveling, but Gokudera reassured Tsuna that they would be cautious on the road.

"Everyone, please be careful," said Tsuna.

"Tenth," Gokudera began, but paused in his track, and Tsuna didn't know what to think of his hesitance because the Gokudera he was familiar with always jumped into things without a second thought. Tsuna realized that while he had grown stronger, Gokudera had matured as well.

The thought was reassuring and saddening.

Gokudera smacked both of his hands on Tsuna's shoulders and gripped them tightly, and perhaps Tsuna had changed more than he thought because his body didn't even flinch at the impact. "You've taught me that I have people I need to return to. I will do everything I can to protect you, but I will remember to take care of my own life as well."

"Gokudera-kun—"

"Not only because you're my boss," Gokudera continued. "But because you're my friend."

There was a time when Gokudera would leap into death with welcome arms because it was all for honor, for the name of the mafia, for the Vongola boss that he thought Tsuna would become; but today, the life that Gokudera was going to risk, all that his friends were willing to sacrifice, were for Tsuna too; Tsuna, the friend.

Tsuna didn't know what to say. The stinging at the back of his eyes returned, so he blinked a few times to get rid of it, only to find his lashes wet against his cheekbone.

"Thank you."

_Have faith in us._

Tsuna watched as they left, their figures disappearing in the early morning mist. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve and stood at the front porch for a long time, watching the darkness that swallowed the world beyond the comfort of his home in a bottomless pit.

It would be his turn soon to be devoured by that darkness.

"What are you standing around for?"

"Hiieeee!" Tsuna jumped, turning to meet Hibari's gaze. "Hibari-san!"

Hibari was leaning against the tree, well hidden in the shadow, his arms crossed and his face scrunched up in an annoyed expression. Tsuna wondered if he had watched the whole exchange without a word. Strange.

"Well? Stop crowding around me with your pathetic presence."

"Yes, Hibari-san!" Tsuna wasn't sure how well traveling with Hibari was going to be, but it might be even more challenging than Reborn's harsh training.

"If those herbivores died, then they were too weak to be worthy of living," said Hibari. "Now stop moping around and scam."

"Yes, Hibari-san!" Tsuna immediately opened the door, intending to get out of Hibari's sight as quickly as possible, but stopped in his track when a thought occurred to him. "Would you like to come inside, Hibari-san? It's cold."

"I have no intention of joining a crowd."

Tsuna knew it.

"Do you want me to bite you to death?"

"I'm going right away!" Tsuna ran into the house and slammed the door behind him before Hibari could change his mind and turn him into a bloody pulp. Hibari-san was always Hibari-san, no doubt about it.

_But—_

Hibari had stood by that tree the whole time, and he didn't say anything, even when Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto, Chrome were crowding. Tsuna still had a long way to go, but he thought that he might be on the road to have Hibari respect him.

**QQQ**

Reborn was in Tsuna's room when Tsuna was looking for him.

"Reborn."

"What is it?" Reborn was staring out the window again. He didn't turn when Tsuna spoke to him.

"Thank you," said Tsuna.

Reborn did turn his head to the side at that, but not enough to look at Tsuna in the eye.

"For what?"

"For that…thing…with my father." Tsuna didn't know how to describe it, but he was grateful that Reborn stood up for him when Iemitsu shot down Tsuna's promise to his mother that he would return. It didn't do any good to have others fought his battles for him, but a small part of him was glad that Reborn did.

When Tsuna was seven, he had gotten into a fight with another boy two years older. The other boy overpowered him completely, partly because he was older and bigger than Tsuna, and also partly because Tsuna couldn't fight back. When they went to the principal's office with their parents, the other's boy father had defended his son fiercely, and Tsuna's mother had told Tsuna to apologize to the other boy. His father was nowhere to be found.

"You shouldn't get into fights," his mother had said, and Tsuna was so angry and jealous because it wasn't his fault, and he really wanted that thing that the other boy had and he didn't. He had wanted his father to defend him like that boy's father defended his son.

The older Tsuna knew that he shouldn't let his father fight for him, that he needed to fight for himself, but a small part of him craved that childish parental protection. _'It would feel warm,'_ he thought. _'Comforting, like being loved. But then when you grow older you feel embarrassed for having it.'_

Reborn, who would never let Tsuna back down from his own fight, had given Tsuna a small glimpse of childish parental protection, even though Tsuna didn't need it. And it felt just like Tsuna thought it would: comforting because someone tried to protect him, but embarrassing because he didn't want to be treated like a child.

"He was upsetting Nana as well," Reborn said. Tsuna could hear the unspoken _'He was upsetting you_._' _

Tsuna smiled. "Thank you."

Reborn met Tsuna's eyes at last. There was a deep frown in his face.

"Reborn?"

"You can't rely on Iemitsu, Tsuna," said Reborn. "You can't rely on me either."

Perhaps Reborn did want Tsuna to keep a reasonable amount of doubt for him, but...

"I know," Tsuna smiled sadly. "But thank you anyway."

"I mean it," said Reborn.

"I understand," said Tsuna. There would come a day when he had to stand on his own, but for now, Tsuna would like to have at least this small remaining trust.

Reborn's frown slowly melted away, and Tsuna felt relieved. Even though he knew it was coming, he didn't want to think about the day when Reborn would leave him—when Reborn had nothing left to teach him. He didn't want to think about the person that he would become after Reborn either.

Just when he thought their conversation was coming to an end, Reborn beckoned him to come closer with his fingers.

"What is it?" Tsuna asked cautiously, walking slowly toward Reborn.

"Sit," Reborn ordered when Tsuna was in front of him.

Tsuna sat on on the floor and leaned his back against the bed. Reborn was still perching at the edge of the bed, expression unreadable.

A tiny hand reached for the top of his head, and Tsuna froze as Reborn ruffled his hair.

Reborn's touch felt warm. It made Tsuna thought of his younger self listening to his mother's soothing voice and cold nights when he snuck out of his room to sit on the front porch, waiting for a father who wouldn't come home.

"You have to stop trusting others so easily," Reborn sighed. "What if I intended to kill you just then?"

"You wouldn't."

Reborn retracted his hand, and Tsuna almost regretted saying anything.

"I mean it about Iemitsu, Tsuna," Reborn said sternly. "I know he's your father, but you can't always trust fathers."

Tsuna wanted to argue, but something in Reborn's eyes stopped him.

Tsuna wondered what kind of person Reborn's father was.

**QQQ**

Tsuna and Hibari set off at 5 AM. The mist had lifted, but the roads were still wet, and the city was still shrouded in complete darkness. They were leaving for the airport by Hibari's motorbike, and Tsuna was still in shocked that Hibari would actually let him ride along without a complaint, even though Reborn had mentioned it to him earlier.

Hibari tossed Tsuna a helmet, and he fumbled with it for a while before he actually caught it in a steady grip.

_Hibari will not give you a problem until you reach base in Italy_, Reborn had said. Tsuna translated that as _Hibari will tolerate you until you reach Italy, where a promise of a good fight against a strong enemy will satisfy him._ At the same time, Tsuna's intuition told him that there was more to Hibari than the explanation Reborn gave him.

"Hibari-san," Tsuna didn't expect that Hibari's eyes would sweep to meet his. "How's your left arm?"

Last month, Hibari had gotten into trouble with a few yakuza members, and Tsuna and the rest of the guardians had gone after him, clearing Naminori of the yakuza influence in the process. Hibari suffered considerable damage, especially his left arm, where a nasty hit from a tetsubo had fractured a bone.

"It's fine," Hibari brushed Tsuna's concern aside as if a broken limb was a common occurrence in his life. It probably was. Then, Hibari gave him an odd look. "I owe you nothing."

"No, you don't," Tsuna agreed.

So Hibari wasn't accompanying Tsuna because he felt obligated to return a favor, but because he wanted to. That was fine with Tsuna.

"The baby promised me powerful enemies in Italy," Hibari explained, as Tsuna expected, but then Hibari gave him that odd look again, the one that he shot Dino sometimes, the eyes of a predator itching for a fight, like Tsuna was also an enemy, and Tsuna wondered if Reborn had ulterior motives in pairing him with Hibari. It felt reassuring but dangerous to be near this man, and Tsuna entertained the thought that this was another special training that Reborn came up with.

Tsuna put on the helmet, hoping that it wouldn't get to the point where he would have to fight with Hibari because the man got out of control. Dealing with Hibari was his job now, and he couldn't possibly rely on Dino forever to keep his guardian in line.

"Where are your gloves?"

"I have them." Tsuna patted the pockets of his parka.

"Keep them on in case we get attacked on the road," said Hibari.

"Right." Tsuna pulled his mittens out and put them on, understanding that if Hibari had his hands tied with steering the motorcycle, he had to be on the defense. Tsuna waited until Hibari got settled on the motorcycle, and then, with a jerk of his head, Hibari signaled Tsuna to get on.

"From the left side," Hibari reminded even though Tsuna already had an idea of how to handle a motorcycle. But then again, Tsuna almost toppled them both when he mounted clumsily, so perhaps being the driver and being a passenger were two different things. Tsuna had expected Hibari to bite him or at least to threaten to bite him, but Hibari just said, "Don't disappoint me, herbivore."

"I will try not to." Tsuna gulped, feeling a phantom brush of his Dying Will Flame on his mittens even though there was nothing there.

"If you drag me down," Tsuna could hear Hibari's voice clearly through the noise of the starting engine. "Even if the enemy does not kill you, I will do it myself."

Tsuna had seen Hibari killed people for less than that, but he decided to keep that thought to himself. For now, he needed to keep Hibari on the same page with him for a long as possible.

"Understood," Tsuna shouted as the engine roared to life, and the world became nothing but a blur as the motorcycle sped through the narrow street of Namimori.

The sky became lighter by the time they left the city, but the thick mist from last night returned.

Tsuna's nerves began fraying when they reached the edge of the Namimori, and it wasn't because of Hibari rushing the motorcycle at ridiculous speed on wet roads, but because his instinct kicked in, warning him of an approaching danger despite the fact that the roads were empty.

Tsuna peered into the mist, but could see nothing but a ghostly whiteness and buildings dissolving into faint streaks. Tsuna didn't realize that he was tightening his arms around Hibari's waist until he felt Hibari's body stiffened, but before he could rectify the situation, another revving sound rose from the roaring of their motorcycle, and, glancing behind him, Tsuna saw one man on another motorbike catching up to them, holding long and silver—a pipe perhaps.

But then the distance between them shortened, and Tsuna jerked slightly when he realized that the man wasn't holding a silver pipe, but a machete that looked big enough to slice his head off clean.

Tsuna turned back to watch the lines of Hibari's back, wondering what he should do, but then there was a twist in his stomach, and, without thinking, he pushed at the back of Hibari's head as a signal to duck and dipped his head just in time as something swept over where their necks were one moment before.

He didn't have the chance to raise his head before the slight tip of Hibari's shoulder told him to prepare for a sharp left turn. Tsuna molded the tilt of his body's to Hibari's, his heart pounding in his ribcage when he felt as if they would both tip over and crash to the ground. Tsuna let out a breath as the motorcycle righted vertically again, his palms sweaty in his mittens.

Behind them, the revving of the engine told Tsuna that they were still being pursued.

Tightening his left arm around Hibari's waist, Tsuna reached into his right pocket for the bottle of Dying Will pills.

Another twist in his guts and Tsuna ducked intuitively. He didn't have enough time to warn Hibari, but luckily, Hibari managed to dodge the sweep of the machete without his prompting.

_Come on,_ Tsuna fumbled with the bottle, the mitten making it difficult to twist the cap. Then, just as he got the bottle to open, his stomach dropped as the world began to tip to the right.

Tsuna quickly jerked his right hand out of his pocket to clutch Hibari tightly as the motorcycle swerve another sharp turn, leaving behind a long _screech_ and the smell of burning rubber.

Tsuna looked behind them just in time to see their pursuer, who didn't react fast enough to follow their turn, disappeared out of sight.

_He'll be back_, Tsuna's mind told him. _He'll make a turn at the next street over and meet us at the next intersection. _

Tsuna's stomach began lurching again, and a chill was starting to pool behind his eyes. It was the same feelings that overwhelmed him yesterday morning with the sniper, and Tsuna felt himself panicking because he didn't want to lose himself, Reborn's advice of _don't go into Hyper Dying Will Mode without the pills_ echoed in his mind. He reached into his pocket, knowing that if he took a pill now, then he would be fine. All he had to do was—

He frowned, searching frantically through his pocket. He needed to take a pill before—

But the bottle was gone.

That couldn't be; he had the bottle in his pocket this whole time.

Tsuna checked again, perhaps it fell deeper into his pocket, it had to be, yes, it was still there, he needed to search harder. He couldn't afford not to have the bottle he needed—

It wasn't there. The bottle wasn't in his pocket anymore, but that wasn't possible because he had it, he knew that he had it; it was still there in his pocket last time he checked. Did the pursuer take it? No, he couldn't have because he wasn't close enough, but Tsuna wasn't sure of himself anymore because he didn't even feel the bottle leaving his pocket. No, that man must have taken it; there was no other explanation. He needed that bottle back.

"Hibari-san," Tsuna shouted over the roaring of the engine. "Let's go after him." Something was burning within Tsuna, a cold shimmering anger, demanding that he catch that man, no matter what. He was going to show him, teach that man not to mess with him.

Hibari didn't give any indication that he had heard Tsuna, but then Hibari took another turn, and their pursuer zoomed past, missing them again.

Tsuna was about to repeat himself, but he didn't get a chance to because Hibari took two more sharp turns, and by the time Tsuna recovered, he saw, past Hibari's left arm, that their pursuer was now in front of them.

Tsuna knew that this was the one and only chance that Hibari was willing to give him.

Their pursuer, probably realizing that the target was behind him, began to slow down.

Hibari decreased their speed as well, but it was fast enough to pass their pursuer, yet slow enough for what Tsuna wanted to do.

One meter gap in, and Tsuna could feel Hibari's body tensing again. Another half meter in, and Tsuna began to let go of Hibari's torso, preparing himself for the moment they were side by side with their pursuer.

_Now._

Tsuna ducked and the blade swept over his head, missing him once again, and, just as their bike passed the other, Tsuna shot a burst of flame from his left hand, blasting their pursuer back crashing on the ground and skidding across the road.

Tsuna tightened his grip on Hibari as the flame accelerated them forward at an almost inhumane speed, closing his eyes when he smelled burning rubber again, and it was too late but he entertained the thought that the wheels wouldn't be able to handle the massive friction, and perhaps if the enemy didn't kill them, the reckless speed will.

However, Hibari slowed down their bike smoothly, and Tsuna opened his eyes just in time to see a man lying in a bloody mess on the road at a distance. Hibari circled back and slowed to a stop before their pursuer, who was lying very still on the ground.

Tsuna jumped off, almost toppling the bike over if it wasn't for Hibari, and ran to the man, heart thundering in his ribcage. But by the time Tsuna stood by the dying biker's side, watching his chest rising and falling, he realized that the man was wearing a smooth biker's suit without pockets, his gloved hands empty.

There was no way he could have gotten to Tsuna's pocket without letting go of the blade or the grip on the motorbike.

He watched as a pool of blood trailed to his shoes.

All of this was for nothing.

Hibari reached his side. "It's not the people who are after you. This is just another delinquent who wanted to settle the score with me. He must have recognized my bike."

Tsuna's heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. Suddenly, his eyes felt hot, and red started flooding in his vision. "All for nothing."

"Let's go," Hibari said, turning on his heels, but Tsuna didn't follow him. The sound of Hibari's footsteps came to a halt, and Tsuna could feel Hibari's gaze burning into his back, and that made him angry for reasons that he couldn't explain.

"What's wrong with you?" Tsuna could hear the annoyance in Hibari's voice, and that irked Tsuna even more because he was the one who was allowed to be annoyed. Hibari should just shut his mouth and leave Tsuna alone, and then maybe he could go back and find those pills because he needed them and he would find them, they shouldn't be too far, and he needed those pills and he was going to get them back even if he had to kill for them, and perhaps he could even finish off this dying man right now, just a clean snap of the neck to—

A hard smack on his left cheek sent Tsuna stumbling onto the ground, but he swiftly got back on his feet, rubbing the back of his hand across the bleeding scraped skin and licked the blood off his mitten, the metallic after taste on his tongue sent a strange sense of calmness washing through his mind. He looked at Hibari and considered returning the favor, but Hibari had his tonfas out, one of them sticky red with Tsuna's blood.

"Oh?" Hibari said, pulling back into a defensive stance. "It's you again."

Tsuna didn't know what Hibari was talking about, and he didn't care. He drew flame to his hands and charged forward, but Hibari immediately caught his forearm with one tonfa.

"Not fast enough," said Hibari, using this chance to send the other tonfa down Tsuna's shoulder, but Tsuna quickly caught it with his other hand and threw a kick on Hibari's chest.

The momentum sent Tsuna flying in the air, but he instantly flipped his body and landed smoothly on his feet. Hibari was knocked several steps back, but he seemed unfazed by Tsuna's attack.

Hibari charged forward this time, and Tsuna braced himself for a hit on the left side, but then Hibari changed his direction and Tsuna didn't react fast enough to stop the strike against his right side.

Hibari swung his left tonfa, but Tsuna caught it, intending to send a punch under Hibari's jaw, which should be enough to draw blood.

A distant wail of a police car stopped Tsuna in this track. That wasn't good. He needed—no, he couldn't afford to be distracted and turned his back on Hibari in a fight because—

—and then there was a pressure on his neck, and Tsuna's vision burnt out.

* * *

><p>~To be continued.<p> 


End file.
